Psychiatrist Charles finds his life and career derailed after refusing to testify on behalf of a former patient whose clinically violent and unstable behaviour has resulted in multiple deaths. The patient, who is part of the LGBT community, then accuses Charles of not wanting to testify because of his sexual orientation, and soon Charles must battle a media storm and accusations of homophobia. Further, the patient claims that Charles has recently gone through a religious conversion in his own personal identity which has resulted in a fully prejudiced reassessment of the gay community as a whole. Charles claims that the basis of these accusations are false and due to a misunderstanding.

American Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet has been considered a specialist in the ambivalence of political correctness ever since the stage success of his "Oleanna". In his new play, "The Penitent", which now makes its German-language premiere in Wiesbaden, he also lets his protagonist grapple with societal norms: the media, the judicial system, psychoanalysis - in Mamet's hands they are all put through the ringer.